BEIJING (Reuters) - A top U.S. envoy predicted tough talks on North Korea's nuclear activities on Monday hours before the start of fresh negotiations over a disarmament-for-aid deal as the Bush administration readies to leave office.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, speaking ahead of six-party talks in Beijing, said the latest round of the stop-start negotiations would focus on how to verify North Korea's declaration of its nuclear programme.
After months of contention over the disarmament process, he was cautious about progress this time around.
"We're not trying to solve all the problems, but we have several items that we have worked hard to get ready," Hill told reporters before a warm-up meeting with Chinese officials.
"We all know what we're supposed to get accomplished here and, like all these six-party meetings, it will be difficult negotiations."
Hill held two-way talks with his North Korean counterpart in Singapore last week.
This is likely to be the last round of the six-way talks before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office, leaving the long-running standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions in the hands of Barack Obama's incoming administration.
The latest round, again hosted by China, is likely to open on Monday afternoon, with the negotiators focussed on coaxing Pyongyang into accepting verification rules to check a formal listing of its nuclear activities it gave in exchange for aid and improved diplomatic standing.
The talks bring together North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan and Russia. North Korea held its first atomic test explosion in 2006 and since then the on-again-off-again talks, begun in 2003, have made halting progress.
The most recent contention has been the North's reluctance to allow international inspectors to take nuclear samples out of the country for testing.
Washington maintains Pyongyang is obliged to allow such tests. But many analysts do not expect North Korea to make any serious moves until Obama takes office in January.
On Saturday, North Korea also said it would ignore Japan at the talks, further testing ties damaged over North Korean agents' kidnappings of Japanese nationals decades ago.
Japan has said it will not join in providing aid to North Korea unless the matter of its abductees has been solved.
(Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison; Writing by Chris Buckley; Editing by Nick Macfie)
